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The Rocket Saboteurs
The Rocket Saboteurs was a comic strip story which was first published in the TV Express Weekly Issues Number 327 to 331 from 4 February 1961 to 4 March 1961. The strip, published in colour, was the last Biggles comic to be drawn by Ron Embleton. Thereafter, Mike Western took over the Biggles series of comics for TV Express. A French translation of the story was later carried in issue 33 of the comic magazine Rin Tin Tin published by SAGE from Nov 1962 under the title Sabotage à Canberra (Sabotage in Canberra) which is a bit of a misnomer as none of the sabotage events actually took place in Canberra. In 2002, Belgian publisher Miklo reissued this and other stories as an album as part of its Biggles Heritage series. The title for the album, which contained several Biggles stories, was also Sabotage à Canberra (Sabotage in Canberra). The original strips on TV Express did not carry a story title. The Miklo compilation on its bibliography on the last page rendered the English title as Moon Rocket X7V although it is not clear how this was arrived at. Between 2007 and 2010, Express Publications published compilations of various TV Express Biggles stories in a very limited edition of only 30 copies. Here the story was given the title The Rocket Saboteurs and this, being the first English title the story has received, is used as the title for this article.This French webpage contains good information about the TV Express Comics. Synopsis There have been a number of sabotage incidents at the rocket base at Bagger-Boomer, Australia, culminating in the top secret prototype X7V moon rocket being blown up. Biggles, Ginger and Bertie go to Australia to help investigate. Plot (Click on expand to read) A series of sabotage incidents have taken place at the rocket research facility at Bagger-Boomer in Australia. Biggles, Ginger and Bertie arrive at National Security Headquarters in Canberra to help investigate. There they get news that the latest top secret prototype, the moon rocket X7V has just been blown up shortly after launch. Biggles and Bertie proceed to the rocket base where Captain Brooke, the head of security gives them the dossiers of all the base staff. Hours of study later, Biggles notices a face. It's an ex-wartime R.A.F. pilot Jumbo Jackson. Here, however, he goes by the name of Walter Digby. Finding that suspicious, they decide to have a word with him. Jackson by this time must have heard that Biggles was in the base, and worried that he might be recognised, he jumps into his car and escapes, crashing through the fence of the base. Biggles and Bertie grab Captain Brooke's sports car and give chase. Outside the base, however, two enemy agents lie in wait to cover Jackson. They shoot at Biggles' car with a Boys anti-tank rifle but Biggles manages to evade the shots. The agents then pursue in a Hiller UH-12 helicopter. Bertie finds a pistol in the glove compartment and lives up to his reputation as a marksman, hitting the helicopter rotor and forcing it to retire. Desperately evading Biggles, Jackson crashes into a tree and dies. Biggles finds a card on him. It's an invitation by the National History Society to a series of lectures on religions in India. Now joined by Ginger, our friends proceed to the address of the lectures. A pair of enemy agents see them coming and try to drop a flower pot on them but Bertie pushes Biggles away just in time. Ginger and Bertie wait for the lift but Biggles dashes up the stairs first, only to be seized by the two enemy agents. They try to take Biggles away in a car but Bertie catches up with them in the basement garage and clings to the car door. Biggles' mind is distracted by this so he leans forward and grabs the steering wheel, forcing the car to crash against a lamp post. Two enemy agents have thus been arrested and after interrogation, they confess that their leader is a person named Barnes who owns a shipyard in Brisbane. Our friends rush there in a Percival Prince. Barnes sees them coming and decides to run for a boat carrying an attache case. Our friends give chase and catch his assistant but Barnes reaches a boat and moves off. Biggles jumps onto a nearby whaler and borrows the harpoon gun. With the help of a sailor on board, they deliver an accurate shot, with the projectile going right through the bow. The boat is hauled in on the cable but Barnes decides to dive into the water. Biggles is obliged to dive in to get him. The attache case is on board the boat. It contains information which the police later use to arrest the entire spy ring. Biggles and co. stay to watch the successful launch of the X8V rocket. Characters The Special Air Police *Biggles *Ginger Hebblethwaite *Bertie Lissie Others *Captain Brooke *Jumbo Jackson *Barnes *Snowy - enemy agent Aircraft *Percival Pembroke - same high-wing radial twin as in Biggles Joins a Revolution. *Hiller UH-12 Places Visited *Canberra *Bagger-Boomer *Brisbane Research notes Illustrations Editions References and external links Category:Derivative works